No Place Like Home
by that1crazaychik
Summary: When Malia is swept away by a mysterious tornado she is transported to a foreign land known as the Outer Zone, that is run by an evil queen and she is tasked by the Witch of the North to steal her power! Along the way she meets three intriguing characters who are all missing something the queen stole from them. A brain, a heart and courage. Inspired by Teen wolf and The Tinman.
1. The Tornado

The wind was raging outside and rain pummeled the ground. Malia stared out the living room window in a daze, unable to shake the bleary mood the bad weather instilled inside her. She hated rain, storms and wind, especially now that she no longer had a fur coat to keep her warm.

That was one of the things Malia really missed about her time as a coyote, a fur coat! That and the freedom and independence she had. The few years she lived in the woods were the years Malia had felt the most free. Life was her adventure to control and she made her own decisions. Back in the real world things were a little different. A score on a test determined half of your life and rules and guidelines were in place for everything! Malia couldn't even eat a meal without being told what to do. As much as she liked being a human again, nothing could replace the feeling of unrestrained power she possessed on her own.

The wind picked up outside and the radio crackled from the coffee table, brining Malia back to the present.

"*Bzzz* -high winds have been reported - *Bzz*Bzzz*- are advised to stay indoors- *Bzz*-could be a big one coming-*Bzz*"

Malia fiddled with the antenna but the signal only got worse, so she ultimately gave up. The floor lamp beside her flickered and eventually went out flooding the room in darkness. The only light came from the occasional flash of lightning through the window.

"Dad?" Malia called, then remembered that her father was away on business. She was about to go look for some candles when something caught her eye outside.

In a flash of lightning, a doglike creature was revealed from outside, standing almost directly on the porch. Malia shot to the window, curious as to what it was. When a second flash illuminated the creature again she couldn't believe what she saw.

A coyote stood mere feet away from the window, it's coat slick with rain water so shone almost like silver. It stared into the window right at Malia with glowing yellow eyes. Just as suddenly as it appeared, darkness fell over the yard again and the coyote was lost in the blackness.

 _Glowing eyes... yellow glowing eyes... could it be?_ The only type of creature Malia had ever seen with eyes that glowed that yellow were...

Realization struck Malia as lightning did the sky. There were more like her! More were-coyotes! Maybe even a whole pack. She grabbed her phone, ready to dial Stiles' number only to find it dead. There was no way she could charge it in a blackout, so she stuck it in her pocket and headed for the door. She slipped on her shoes, pulled on her rain jacket, grabbed a flashlight and was out the door just in time to see the coyote slip into the woods. She raced after it.

After following the coyote through the stormy woods for a while she couldn't help but wonder how she hadn't lost it yet. Every time she was sure the dog was long gone, there it was, looking back at her with glowing yellow eyes. It was as if it was waiting for her to catch up. She hadn't even ran that far and already her red converses were caked with mud and her hair wet against her face.

Finally they arrived in a clearing. The coyote stood right in the center of it, waiting for Malia again. She walked slowly towards it, not sure what to do. The dog just stared at her intently, it's glowing eyes breaking through the sheets of rain.

"Why did you bring me here?" Malia shouted over the roar of the wind. The coyote didn't even flinch. This angered Malia. She had so many questions. How did the coyote control the shift? Could she control it? How could she turn back? _How could she turn back!_

The coyote ignored her and turned to the opposite end of the clearing. It sat down in the mud and raised it's muzzle to the sky. The coyote let out an eerie howl that cut through the air like a knife. Malia couldn't help but feel shaken, even a little scared. She went to turn back and run for the house but it was to late.

The wind picked up from the opposite end of the clearing and surged towards Malia, sending her flying backwards into a tree. She hit the trunk hard and crumbled to the muddy ground. She looked up and the forest seemed to spin around her. She got up to her feet cautiously as the wind swirled in every direction around her, slapping muddy leaves against her face, spraying rain horizontally so hard the water felt like glass against her skin, ripping trees right out of the ground.

Panic enveloped Malia along with the wind as she tried to regain her footing. The wind whipped her around, disorienting her, tossing her aside like a doll. She splashed into a muddy puddle at the feet of the coyote, whose eyes were still glowing in the darkness. It stared right into her eyes again and for a second the panic melted away. The raging wind and cracking trees around her went silent, as if someone had pressed the mute button on a remote control. The only sound she could hear was the coyotes soft, yet stern voice.

"Hold on!" it commanded Malia as it held out it's paw. Despite how ridiculous it felt Malia grabbed the dogs paw and the two were swept away by the wind.


	2. The Silver Witch

Malia awoke lying on her back, staring into the clear blue sky. She could feel the texture of grass under her fingers and the dampness of their dew stricken blades on her back. She sat up slowly, her head pounding with a headache she couldn't remember how she got. She tried to remember how she would've ended up unconscious in a meadow, when it all came flooding back to her. The wind, the rain, the storm, the tornado... the coyote.

"Finally, you're awake!" a smooth British accent broke through her thoughts, the same one who told her to _hold on_ last night. Malia whipped around to see the coyote with the yellow eyes sitting patiently behind her.

"I was worried you weren't going to awaken" it continued. Malia guessed it was male.

"Where am I? Where did you take me?" Malia asked getting to her feet, towering over the coyote. He didn't seemed intimidated however and just stared up at Malia intrigued.

"I did not take you anywhere." the coyote responded. "The Portal did."

"The what?" Malia asked bewildered, none of this made sense, how did she even get here? More importantly how was she even talking to a coyote?

"Oh... my apologies. I should say tornado, or whatever you people call it!" he said.

"What is going on?" Malia shouted, but the dog ignored her as if his magic ability to speak suddenly didn't work anymore. Malia got frustrated and summoned her claws, raising them high above her head ready to strike.

"Answer me!" she shrieked but before she could even swipe at the dog a hand caught her wrist and held it firmly.

"Easy now..." a gentle voice said from behind her "There's no need to get violent, we don't mean any harm."

Malia turned around to see a young woman smiling back at her. She was beautiful! Clad in slim, silver armor, a quiver on her back and a bow at her side, she looked like some kind of warrior princess. She had long wavy dark hair that was pinned up out of her face. Across her forehead she also wore a glittering headband with a fleur de lis embedded in the center of it.

The woman let go of Malia's hand, and smiled warmly at her.

"Allow me to explain." she said "I am the Witch of the North and this," she motioned to the coyote "is my trusty sidekick, Toto."

The coyote dropped his head in embarrassment.

"Please, my name is Tobias!" he said sheepishly.

The Witch laughed, filling the air with the joyous sound of her voice.

"I'm sorry _Tobias_! I always forget" she apologized to the coyote.

"Okay, slow down here! Your a witch? Aren't witches supposed to be evil?" Malia said. "What the hell is going on?"

The Witch sighed. Malia folded her arms across her chest.

"You might not accept what I am about to tell you but please... try and have an open mind!"

"What is going on!" Malia repeated.

"This," she motioned to the land around them, "is the Outer Zone, a mysterious land just beyond the veil of your own world. You were brought here because you are the only one who can save it!"

"Brought here by who?" Malia asked.

The Witch continued carefully.

"Me... I was the one who sent for you!"

Malia stood in silence for a while, debating whether she should run, attack or listen. For once in her life she chose listen.

"Why...?" she asked quietly.

"Because," this time it was Tobias who answered, "you have power in this world that is unimaginable! Only you have that power, so only you can save the OZ."

"Save it from what?" Malia turned back to the Witch, who had grown unusually quiet. The Witch looked down sadly, almost as if the very thought she was thinking brought her immense pain. Finally she looked up at Malia and answered in a pained voice.

"Itself!"

* * *

"Hurry!" Tobias called from up ahead, "The Castle is this way!"

The coyote hurried along through the wheat field. The grain stocks were so high the only way Malia could keep track of the coyote was by following the disturbance in the perfect rows of wheat. As she trudged along through the field her mind flashed back to the conversation she had just had with the Witch of the North, back in the meadow:

 _"The throne has been taken over by an evil queen, the Wicked Witch of the West. She has cascaded our kingdom with darkness and is utterly unstoppable by someone in our realm!" the Witch said sadly "She must be stopped before our whole land is rid of it's purity and goodness!"_

 _"So... you want me to kill her?" Malia asked forwardly. The Witch seemed pained by that thought._

 _"Well... preferably not..." the witch looked down sadly "You see, the queen wasn't always evil. She's just been... corrupted and used! This really isn't her fault. I just need you take something from her, the source of her power!"_

 _"And what exactly is that?" Malia questioned._

 _"The gem on top of her staff. The Ruby"_

Malia couldn't believe what she had gotten herself into. A few minutes ago she was talking to a so called Witch about stealing some magical rock and now she was following a yellow-eyed coyote through endless fields of grain. This was crazy! She wanted to go home, but she knew that was impossible. She couldn't go home, not until she finished the task at hand. Once she stole the precious gem, then she could go home.

 _"Unfortunately, I can't send you home" The witch had said when Malia demanded she send her back. "I don't have enough power to open the portal again. It was hard enough getting you here! The only way for you to get back is by using the power of the Ruby!"_

Malia was so lost in her thought she almost stepped on Tobias as the coyote stopped dead in front of her.

"What's up Toto?" Malia asked sarcastically, "Catch a scent?"

"You didn't" The coyote retorted swiftly. Malia didn't know whether or not she should take Tobias' comeback seriously, but she took a deep breath anyway. Sure enough, there was a scent and it was strong. The unmistakable smell of dry electricity as it crackled through the air.

"What is-" Malia didn't have time to finish her sentence before a ear piercing _Caw!_ filled the air. A giant shadow flew across the bottom of the valley. Tobias' yellow eyes flew to the sky and were immediately filled with terror. Malia followed his gaze and couldn't help but feel panic grip her heart as well.

"Run!" Tobias yelled, "Now!"

He raced forward through the grain and Malia followed, without protest.


End file.
